Regulatted Energy audit to begin moving eastwards

"Energy-efficiency", the first non-commercial branch association in Sverdlovsk region, was recently included in the state register of self-regulating organizations (SRO). According to the Federal Law on Energy Saving, at present only members of that sort of organizations have the right to conduct energy auditing. It is remarkable that so far about 90% of registered SROs have been operating in Moscow and St.Petersburg. Nowadays energy audit is an integrated method to measure energy efficiency of residential buildings, industrial premises, utility systems and municipalities. Urals’ energy auditors’ Union, given an official status to act, may boost the implementation of regional energy efficiency plans. The process of accreditation in the register, previously dominated by companies from Moscow and St.Petersburg, has recently been joined by regional organizations from Sverdlovsk, Kurgan and Tyumen regions and Perm territory, which have recently obtained the right to perform energy auditing.

It is worth remembering that new federal law makes energy auditing obligatory for state-financed organizations, new buildings and those under capital repairs and for enterprises with high energy consumption. The Federal Law on Energy Efficiency, signed by the President, is entitled to create a legal base for the development in this field.

Before the adoption of the Law on Energy Saving every company on the energy audit market worked according to their own criteria and tariffs. Presently, according to federal regulations, members of SROs are to develop uniform standards and criteria. Each SRO has their own internal standards, but the latter should be based on uniform federal regulations. SROs will establish a special compensation fund and each member organization will be financially responsible for the quality of their work. Meanwhile, by the time the Federal law was launched an array of regulating documents had already been developed in Sverdlovsk region and had been in force since 1996. Some of them will have to be harmonized with the federal regulations.

The opportunity for regional companies to be listed in the state register along with aligning energy-related data to uniform criteria are good signs per se. However, Russia’s experience has shown that making any kind of checks and verifications obligatory may turn into a major rip-off aimed against small businesses. Thus, an important step towards a uniform auditing system would be to make the overall process transparent and having clear uniform criteria, plans and tariffs.